Latest news with #HillsboroughCountySchoolBoard
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
More books pulled from Hillsborough classrooms after state pressure
A fresh round of books — more than 600, by one estimate — have been taken out of circulation from Hillsborough County classrooms after a letter from state officials ramped up pressure on school district officials. In a letter last week, Attorney General James Uthmeier asked the Hillsborough County School Board for the 'immediate removal' of materials he called 'patently pornographic.' His letter echoed one from Florida Board of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz on May 9. Diaz asked district Superintendent Van Ayres to tell the state board next month in Miami 'why you continue to allow pornographic materials in your school libraries.' Uthmeier's letter pointed out excerpts from the books 'Call Me By Your Name' by Andre Aciman, previously available in three high school libraries, and 'Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)' by Lev A. C. Rosen, available in two high school libraries. He also pointed to excerpts from 'What Girls Are Made Of' by Elana K Arnold; 'Beautiful' by Amy Reed, available in middle schools; 'Breathless' by Jennifer Niven; and 'Choke' by Chuck Palahniuk, available in some high schools. 'It's shocking that the district is making these materials available to its students,' Uthmeier's letter said. He said the state's newly created Office of Parental Rights plans to give parents more say in what books could remain. In a letter to Diaz, Ayres said all titles mentioned in the letters, plus five others, had been removed from the county's schools. He also said all titles on the state's 2022-23 and 2023-24 lists have been taken out of circulation and will be reviewed, even though no objections to them have risen through the district, to 'err on the side of caution.' In a letter responding to Uthmeier, school district attorney Jim Porter said that since 2022, Hillsborough County has removed 389,073 books from its collection of more than 2 million books, and will continue to 'actively review' its collections. The district will also consider changing policies to 'strengthen the selection process and weeding of library materials,' Porter wrote. Stephana Ferrell, co-director of the Florida Freedom to Read advocacy group, estimates around 622 titles were pulled out of circulation as a result of the state's recent directive. She called it 'a horrible state overreach.' Until now, Hillsborough County has had a process in place to review objections to materials originating at the school level. Ferrell called the state's position hypocritical. In response to a lawsuit filed by book publishers about a 2023 law that regulates library materials, the state has argued that the law itself doesn't ban books, but individuals at the district do based on their interpretation. Ferrell said that implies the acknowledgment of districts' abilities to make those decisions. Diaz' letter acknowledged that, but chided Van Ayres for not removing those books sooner. Ferrell pointed out that while no objections over the titles mentioned in the state's letters arose in Hillsborough, complaints over 'Breathless' came up in Polk and Flagler counties, where committees decided the book was appropriate for high school students. 'It is very scary, the amount of power that they are using to to just completely negate the voice of the people — the people that have actually taken the time to thoughtfully review, re-read the books, review them, debate them, discuss them, and come to a decision about where they believe the books to be appropriate, if they've decided to leave the books within their community,' she said.
Axios
15-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Hillsborough sets aside $15M for educators at low-performing schools
The Hillsborough County School Board agreed to earmark around $15 million to maintain a bonus structure for employees at more than three dozen low-performing schools in the district, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Why it matters: The bonuses can help retain and attract talent at the district's most vulnerable schools, where academic performance is low and more attention is needed to close achievement gaps. Catch up quick: The Transformation Network began in 2020 to provide extra support, including bonuses, to teachers and paraprofessionals at schools with chronic low performance. The network included 45 schools in its first year and will have 39 this year, per the Times. Zoom in: The approved bonus structure allows: $5,000 for teachers and assistant principals, $7,500 for principals and $1,000 for paraprofessionals at schools within the Transformation Network. Teachers eligible for a state bonus are limited to a combined $5,000 from both the state and district, according to the Times. Friction point: Teachers and board members, while supportive of the agreement, raised concerns about funding for what are known as Renaissance schools, designated by income level, not performance. Board member Nadia Combs said she worries that without additional funds, low-income schools could slip into low performance, per the Times. Renaissance schools are those where 90% or more of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Teachers at these schools received a salary differential in the 2024–25 school year. There were 26 Renaissance schools in the 2024–25 school year. In recent weeks, some teachers say they've heard colleagues thinking about leaving those schools.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Florida lawmakers eye funds for AP, IB, career classes in budget cuts
Advanced academic courses and career and technical programs at public schools could land on the chopping block next year as part of state lawmakers' efforts to shrink Florida's budget ahead of anticipated revenue declines. A House proposal to halve additional funding for students in International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Cambridge, dual enrollment and career-technical courses has prompted school officials across the state to blitz their local delegations with calls to reconsider. Several showed up in Tallahassee on Wednesday to vocalize their concerns. 'I want to start mobilizing parents and families who care about this,' said Jessica Vaughn, chairperson of the Hillsborough County School Board. 'The district is already operating at bare bones.' Vaughn and others expressed hope that the House might shift its approach once lawmakers understand how the reduction would impact children's learning. In Hillsborough, for instance, the loss of about $12 million could lead to the elimination of International Baccalaureate programs in elementary and middle schools. The district also faces a $7 million decrease in career education money. Pasco County schools could lose more than $3 million, potentially pinching efforts to expand career and technical programs. The hit to Pinellas County schools could approach $10 million. 'The Legislature has been advocating over 10 years or more this direction' of boosting career and advanced courses, which count in a high school's state grade, Pasco County superintendent John Legg said. 'We're trying to watch how it plays out.' Opposition to the proposal surfaced Wednesday in both legislative chambers as lawmakers discussed their budget plans. Students, teachers, parents and school officials told the House Budget Committee how the cuts to the funding, which is paid to districts based on student success on program exams, diplomas and certifications, would detract from the state's focus on improved career and advanced education. Sehar Sarang, a Leon County high school student, spoke of how her school's ability to offer advanced courses has allowed students to overcome economic disadvantages. She said she earned a full scholarship to Dartmouth College as a result of her experiences. 'By defunding this transformative program, Florida will be stopping thousands of students from reaching their full potential,' she said. House PreK-12 Budget chairperson Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, said last week that the goal was not to cut programs. But a state Department of Education report indicated that the rising amount of money going to districts has not aligned with needed expenditures, such as teacher pay supplements and course materials, she said. For instance, in career-technical courses, 20% of the money last year went toward teacher compensation compared to 36% for 'other,' she noted. On Wednesday, Persons-Mulicka stressed that the funding under discussion is an incentive beyond the base per-student funding, and said school districts have come to rely on it too heavily to support entire programs rather than for intended uses. She argued that those opposed to the reduction should be talking to their school boards about better spending the base funding for career and advanced programs. 'These do not fund entire programs,' she said, noting that while the add-on might be cut, overall per-student funding has been recommended to increase. The House budget proposal calls for a $62.21 rise in per-student funds, entirely paid for by local taxes. The state share would decrease by just over 1%. While Persons-Mulicka stood firm in the face of Democratic opposition, Budget vice chairperson Rep. Susan Valdés, R-Tampa, assured the public that cut 'just is proposed.' 'This is not the end product,' Valdés said. 'Your voices have been heard.' The discussion could move toward the Senate plan, which Appropriations PreK-12 chairperson Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, told his colleagues did not include the same cuts. Some senators had pointed questions about the issue, after observing that the bill Burgess brought forth also referred to reducing the add-on amounts by half. Burgess said Department of Education officials indicated that half the money wouid be sufficient to cover the testing, teacher bonuses and other items needed to provide the courses. That will allow the Legislature to shift the other half into the general fund, he said, so schools can use the money for the career and advanced programs or anything else they deem appropriate. 'We're giving them additional flexibility,' Burgess said. Sen. Tina Polksy, D-Boca Raton, urged Burgess to stand firm during negotiations with the House. 'Let's not let public schools get any further disadvantaged,' Polsky said.
